Paul M. Renfro's "The Life and Death of Ryan White: AIDS and Inequality in America" offers a comprehensive biography of Ryan White, a hemophiliac teenager who became the face of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. The book delves into the complexities of Ryan's story, exploring how his image was used to both raise awareness and reinforce existing stigmas surrounding HIV/AIDS. Renfro examines the political and social dynamics of the time, highlighting the inequalities within the AIDS crisis and the lasting impact of those inequalities on policy and cultural understanding. The narrative challenges simplistic narratives of innocence and guilt, prompting a critical reflection on the politics of victimhood and the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS. The book also explores the role of media representation and activism in shaping public perception and policy responses to the epidemic. Ultimately, it serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of empathy, understanding, and equitable healthcare for all.
In the 1980s, as HIV/AIDS ravaged queer communities and communities of color in the United States and beyond, a straight white teenager named Ryan White emerged as the face of the epidemic. Diagnosed with hemophilia at birth, Ryan contracted HIV through contaminated blood products. In 1985, he became a household name after he was barred from attending his Indiana middle school. As Ryan appeared on nightly news broadcasts and graced the covers of popular magazines, he was embraced by music icons and well-known athletes, achieving a curious kind of stardom.
Analyzing his struggle and celebrity, Paul M. Renfro's powerful biography grapples with the contested meanings of Ryan's life, death, and afterlives. As Renfro argues in The Life and Death of Ryan White: AIDS and Inequality in America (UNC Press, 2024), Ryan's fight to attend school forced the American public to reckon with prevailing misconceptions about the AIDS epidemic. Yet his story also reinforced the hierarchies at the heart of the AIDS crisis. Because the "innocent" Ryan had contracted HIV "through no fault of his own," as many put it, his story was sometimes used to blame presumably "guilty" populations for spreading the virus. Reexamining Ryan's story through this lens, Renfro reveals how the consequences of this stigma continue to pervade policy and cultural understandings of HIV/AIDS today.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
New Books In Public Health